CHENEY — If you want to learn more about your house, the land it sits on or some other dwelling or parcel in the city — and more — that information is only a couple computer clicks away. The city of Cheney has created an Interactive Zoning Map that is now available online at the city Planning Department’s home page. The map is a composite of information from the county and city that has been accumulated over the past 10-plus years via the city’s geographic information system (GIS) data accumulation. Senior planner Brett Lucas said they have been gathering data such as locations of water and sewer lines, power poles, emergency features and if possible building and geological data for use by the city’s field technicians. This is then linked with a GIS online feature that can create layers for each feature on a map. But some of the features of the online format were being paid for, but not used, Lucas said. With COVID-19 health protocols restricting access to city facilities for the public, Lucas said he asked city officials around Christmas time why not use these paid-for features and provide parcel and building information the public can use through their computers. “We’re trying to figure out ways to provide more a self-service to our customers,” he added. Property information on the interactive map is supplied by the Spokane County Assessor’s Office, and is usually updated every three months or so. The rest of the information about buildings, their footprints and so forth were created in-house at the Planning Department. Users can view a variety of visual layers such as city zoning designations, central historic district, parcel boundaries and building footprints. Users can “click” on the “search” bar on the top left hand side of their screen and in the search window enter the subject property address, such as 112 Anderson Road for the Utility Building, and the map will zoom in on that structure. Users can also click on the layers icon — which is in the upper left hand corner and looks like a stack of papers — and it will open a new side bar with additional layers one can toggle on or off. Users can also change the background image in from a street map, to topographic or aerial imagery. Finally, if a user clicks on a building footprint or parcel, additional information is available via a pop-up window that displays information such as the year the structure was built, the acreage of the parcel and the parcel number. The parcel number can then be used with the county’s SCOUT system to obtain more information such as appraised price, taxing districts and utilities. Additionally, Cheney’s interactive map utilizes the city Light Department’s service area, rather than the city limits, as the boundaries for its information. That service area stretches north along State Route 904 almost to Four Lakes, south along SR 904 halfway to Tyler, northeast down Cheney-Spokane Road to just short of Marshall and a good majority of the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. “We service a pretty good sized area,” Lucas said. The map is also color coded, with the colors depicting the various zones the same used on the city’s comprehensive plan, zoning and other maps already available on the website. Clicking on the layers icon, then the arrow on the right of the Zoning tab drops down the map color-code legend. Lucas said they are hoping residents and others such as developers use the map to help learn more about the city, its neighborhoods and even a bit of history. “It won’t answer all questions, but it can help with looking up parcels of interest, and you can go from there,” he added. The map is available at http://www.cityofcheney.org/192/Planning-Department. John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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